[No Nickname]

If I'm understanding this correctly, all cable companies must switch over to purely "Digital Cable" in 2009. And since my new Series 2 can only accept an input from ONE Digital Cable source, then it will in essence become a Single-Tuner?

Or will our coaxial cable input still receive a watchable feed from a company like Comcast?

I'm hoping that the coax feed will be digital, but just not need a box? I'm grasping at straws right now, aren't I?

Did I just make a mistake by paying $299 to switch from my Lifetime Subscription on my Single-Tuner Series 2 to a Dual-Tuner Series 2 with 80 hours? Or basically, did I just pay $299 for a Dual-Tuner for two years?

 

[LifeIsABeach]

OTA signals must be converted to digital, not the cable companies (although they can do so as well if they want to).

 

[MickeS]

Did I just make a mistake by paying $299 to switch from my Lifetime Subscription on my Single-Tuner Series 2 to a Dual-Tuner Series 2 with 80 hours?

IMO, yes it was a mistake... sorry.

But the cable companies are not required to change anything, so there might be analog signals still after 2009. Although I doubt it...

 

[No Nickname]

OTA signals must be converted to digital, not the cable companies (although they can do so as well if they want to).

So, if I can potentially still receive "basic cable" through my coax without a box, I could potentially still be able to have Dual-Tuner capabilities?

Or does the Series 2 only allow for one digital input and one analog? I'm hoping that a "digital feed without a box" will work like my current analog input. In essence, the Series 2 just can't control two cable BOXES.

Thoughts?

 

[MickeS]

does the Series 2 only allow for one digital input and one analog?

Yes. To get any digital signal, you will need a box - only analog signals can be passed into the unit without a box.

If the cable system goes all digital, you will only have 1 input source available - the cable box.

A Series 3 TiVo can take a digital signal directly without a box (but will need CableCARDs for decrypting some channels, and for mapping clear QAM in most cases).

 

[bidger]

For a long time I believed that the digital conversion wouldn't apply to cable, until it dawned on me, if all the networks go digital, which is pretty much the extent of a lifeline cable package and the cornerstone of the standard cable package, why wouldn't the majority of cable companies look at going all digital? As I understand it, they can make more efficient use of their spectrum with digital than analog.

Anyway, my main reason for posting is that someone provided these links in a related discussion and I leave it to you to make of them what you will:
http://dtvfacts.com/digital-tv-facts-cable-customers/

http://dtvfacts.com/latest/410/cable-local-stations/

 

[HDTiVo]

IMO, yes it was a mistake... sorry.

Yeah, mistake. This is really not a good offer for someone like yourself.

What led you to take it?

 

[MickeS]

Yeah, mistake. This is really not a good offer for someone like yourself.

What led you to take it?

I can't answer for him, but obviously the ability to record two shows at one would be the main reason for most people. And I think most people don't really think about the fact that cable will likely drop analog support in a few years time.

And maybe they won't - lots of people still have analog cable as the only source on some TVs in their homes. I imagine that at least some of those would be happy to go with satellite instead, if cable would force them to get boxes for every TV just like satellite does.

I have analog cable only for the convenience of no extra box. If the cable company forced me to use a box for my Series 2, I might as well get satellite.

With Series 3 it's a different story, of course, since for that unit I'd only be able to get OTA content if I dropped cable... but I don't think the number of Series 3 owners are any factor in anything.

 

[bidger]

I can't answer for him, but obviously the ability to record two shows at one would be the main reason for most people. And I think most people don't really think about the fact that cable will likely drop analog support in a few years time.

And maybe they won't - lots of people still have analog cable as the only source on some TVs in their homes.

But, I have to believe that they'll complain about singled out since analog OTA will be cut off, DBS is already digital, and I bet that same restriction won't be put on FIOS or IPTV. Of course, one could make the argument that those services are for people with more disposable income and there are lots of folks who rely on cable for their locals so they don't have to put up an antenna.

 

[No Nickname]

Yeah, mistake. This is really not a good offer for someone like yourself.

What led you to take it?

It was definitely the dual-tuner feature that made me do it. Or the Devil, I'm not sure which. I knew that the Networks were going to be forced to supply digital footage by 2009, I just didn't realize that this would force me to use a Cable Box in any room that I wanted to watch TV. I thought I'd still have the option of Basic Cable without a box.

I currently do have a Digital Box, so I'm not opposed to it, but I also didn't realize that the Series 2 TiVos could only take in one feed from a box.

I'm really disappointed. And from what I'm reading, there are no refunds on this offer, unless the box is damaged or something.

I saw the offer a year ago to buy a Series 3 and to transfer my Lifetime Subscription over (I got it in June 2002), but I didn't have the money to buy a $799 TiVo and an additional $199 to transfer the service.

If I'm doing the math correctly, I might have been better suited to just buy a new Dual Tuner Series 2 for $99, and a 2-year service plan ($8.95 x 24 months = $216) so that my total would have been $315 and I would have two functioning TiVos (my old Series 2 Single-Tuner and my new Series 2 Dual-Tuner). The way I did it, I paid $299 for my new Series 2, plus 24 months of service for my old Series 2 ($216) for a total of $515.

So I basically could have saved $200 if I really, really wanted a Dual-Tuner and just had to have it.

I'm going to keep my fingers crossed that my coax will still work for a year or two past 2009. But I doubt it.

 

[HDTiVo]

It was definitely the dual-tuner feature that made me do it. Or the Devil, I'm not sure which.

Like you mentioned, there were other purchase options for a DT, so how much did seeing the Lifetime aspect of the offer influence you?

 

[MickeS]

If I'm doing the math correctly, I might have been better suited to just buy a new Dual Tuner Series 2 for $99, and a 2-year service plan ($8.95 x 24 months = $216) so that my total would have been $315 and I would have two functioning TiVos (my old Series 2 Single-Tuner and my new Series 2 Dual-Tuner). The way I did it, I paid $299 for my new Series 2, plus 24 months of service for my old Series 2 ($216) for a total of $515.

So I basically could have saved $200 if I really, really wanted a Dual-Tuner and just had to have it.

That's the math I did too. It would cost $284 to get a refurb S2 DT with 3 years service, so it didn't make sense financially to take this offer. (Well, that's what it came out to then... can't find the offer I looked at now...)

Plus I had already bought the Series 3 with the $200 mail-in rebate, which comes out to $649.20 for 3 years.

If I had had a Series 1 with Lifetime activated after January 20, 2000, it would have been very tempting though. I'm guessing those are the primary target for this.

 

[No Nickname]

Like you mentioned, there were other purchase options for a DT, so how much did seeing the Lifetime aspect of the offer influence you?

The Lifetime aspect was the BIG thing that grabbed my attention. I just wanted a DT from TiVo. I didn't want to use Comcast's DVR.

When I then saw that it was for a Series 2 and was "only" $299 as opposed to $1,000 (for a S3 with the Lifetime transfer) I thought "okay, I'll pay $299 since I had my old S2 / ST for over five years. I'll use this new DT for over five years so I'll save money."

Then when I heard about 1) that everything will be digital in 2009 and 2) my new DT only accepts ONE digital input, I realized that I made a mistake. You can see my post above for the math I did.

Is there any chance I can call TiVo and "switch" my purchase? Keep my Lifetime on my old box, and just buy this new DT for $99 with a two-year plan? Or is it too late?

My preference would be to buy a S3, but I just can't see spending more than $500 for it.

 

[MickeS]

Is there any chance I can call TiVo and "switch" my purchase? Keep my Lifetime on my old box, and just buy this new DT for $99 with a two-year plan? Or is it too late?

I would think they can do that for you. Certainly worth a shot, it's not like they'd be losing money on it.

 

[HDTiVo]

The Lifetime aspect was the BIG thing that grabbed my attention. I just wanted a DT from TiVo. I didn't want to use Comcast's DVR.

When I then saw that it was for a Series 2 and was "only" $299 as opposed to $1,000 (for a S3 with the Lifetime transfer) I thought "okay, I'll pay $299 since I had my old S2 / ST for over five years. I'll use this new DT for over five years so I'll save money."

Then when I heard about 1) that everything will be digital in 2009 and 2) my new DT only accepts ONE digital input, I realized that I made a mistake. You can see my post above for the math I did.

Is there any chance I can call TiVo and "switch" my purchase? Keep my Lifetime on my old box, and just buy this new DT for $99 with a two-year plan? Or is it too late?

My preference would be to buy a S3, but I just can't see spending more than $500 for it.

I would try to call TiVo immediately. You can buy a refurb S3 for $499, but I would suggest waiting for lower prices, or for the S3 lite which might be out this fall, or buy the DT another way (I made several suggestions in the main thread on this subject.)

For my part, the power of the Lifetime offer and how it drew you is most interesting. Thanks for the insight.

 

[TiVoZ]

I am a (previous) Series 1 owner that had lifefime service from Mar2002 and I just took this $299 offer to upgrade to a S2 DT box. Big reasons were DT and the age of the old S1 box (Sep2001). I'm happy with switch.

I did not consider getting a new box w/ service. However, I think some of the folks math here makes unfair assumptions that cable providers will switch off analog on Feb2009. I do not believe this will be the case. While OTA signals will convert to digital, I expect cable providers will feel too much pressure from consumers and will not switch off analog service. The shear number of cable boxes they would have to ship (and install in some cases) would just be too great. I expect there will be at least a couple more years (post Feb2009) while cable providers will feel forced to still offer analog service. I'm sure this topic has been beat to death on these forums, but I just thought I'd throw in my $0.02. Whatever happens, I'm guessing it will be sort of a mess.

A related question. As mentioned, I have the new S2 DT with no cable box connected (straight coax out of the wall). Is there any advantage in my getting the cable box? Will I notice any difference in picture quality from Tivo recordings from the digital signal? Over the analog signal? Like a previous poster, I'd like to avoid the clutter of the cable box. I don't use any services (pay-per-view, etc) from my cable provider and my set has a digital tuner, so I can get the digital signals straight to the set without the box, so I don't really have any other use for the cable box.

TIA.

 

[MickeS]

A related question. As mentioned, I have the new S2 DT with no cable box connected (straight coax out of the wall). Is there any advantage in my getting the cable box? Will I notice any difference in picture quality from Tivo recordings from the digital signal? Over the analog signal? Like a previous poster, I'd like to avoid the clutter of the cable box. I don't use any services (pay-per-view, etc) from my cable provider and my set has a digital tuner, so I can get the digital signals straight to the set without the box, so I don't really have any other use for the cable box.

TIA.

In my experience, the picture is better when NOT using the cable box on the analog channels.

The cable boxes did have better picture on the digital channels, than the TiVo had on the analog channels, but not so much better that it was worth the hassle of having a box.

YMMV.

 

[HiDefGator]

two thoughts...

1. Isn't the cable company in Chicago already dumping all the analog channels? Seems like I read that somewhere on here.

2. How can you be so concerned with them turning off analog cable in 2+ years but not at all worried about SDV hurting the S3 later this year?

 

[MickeS]

How can you be so concerned with them turning off analog cable in 2+ years but not at all worried about SDV hurting the S3 later this year?

Probably because he doesn't have a Series 3 TiVo.

 

[jlb]

I was sort of in the same boat. I had two single tuner S2 boxes until we went into cost cutting mode several months ago. But I started seeing good prices on the Dual tuner boxes on ebay (of course some outlandish ones too). I have been month to month for ever and prior to the new pricing format. So I bought a box at a reasonable price (and awaiting delivery) and I will just swap service numbers on my account on TiVo.com.

I had thought a lot about the possibility of what will happen in 2009 with respect to Comcast, as I am a lifeline cable subscriber at $10/month. But I will have full functionality on the DT for 19 months, at a minimum. At that point I will likely be able to afford a new HD TV (currently on a 27" analog Sony), and will be able to go either S3, S3-L, or ComcasTiVo.

Don't stress about your decision. If you cannot change it, you still have full functionality of a great box for at least 19 months. By then, you will have forgotten about how much you paid.